


It's Okay to Let Go

by PurpleVinedRose



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anger, F/M, Fear, Mainly focused on Natasha and Bruce, Trust, lullaby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-30 23:32:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3956065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleVinedRose/pseuds/PurpleVinedRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Natasha finds herself in an inescapable situation with the "Other Guy", she doesn't have much choice but to figure out how to calm him down. After much thought, she finally comes up with a plan.</p><p>Plan Lullaby.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Okay to Let Go

The fear that pounded in Natasha's heart was little to no help in her current situation. She had been cut off from the other Avengers, losing sight of her only friends before she even knew what was happening, and being thrown from a shuttle that held dangerous explosive.

Today was not going her way.

However, she was still the Black Widow, and she still had a job to complete. Whether it cost her life or not.

Tucking her legs beneath her as she shifted to roll across the ground- the impact barely making a dent in her specialized armor- she contemplated her next move carefully. It was likely that the intention of throwing her had not meant to launch her this far- meaning that there could be more shuttles just yards from where she had landed.

Coming to a near-halt, she sprung to her feet and took her guns from their holsters, looking around at the fall, woody clearing. Leaves had clung to her suit, and her face had a smear of dirt on it. This all didn't matter to her, she needed to find a safe... well, safer, place to attack.

Launching from her place in the clearing, she turned her back onto a tree, looking for the other Avengers.

She sucked in calm, soothing breaths and focused her eyes on her surroundings, teeth clenched. Carefully, so as not to expose herself, she delved deeper into the trees. They couldn't have thrown her far, she could still hear the sounds of the battle. The shouts and screams of people giving their lives away.

Inhaling slowly, she jogged back towards the battle, feeling something was wrong. She waited a few minutes, listening.

"Damn it!" She growled, taking her earpiece out. It shattered between her thin fingers, the pieces falling onto the autumn grown and disappearing into the orange leaves.

Breaking into a sprint, she made her way back into battle, and realized within moments that something was terribly,  _terribly_   wrong. 

Few tanks were left, and corpses were scattered across the field like strewn dolls, forgotten by their lady owner. Smoke came from all around her.

She stilled, hearing the breaking and snapping of trees and what she dearly hoped were not suffering bones. Dread filled her stomach, but she schooled her face into a placid expression.

Bruce, or rather the "Other Guy", had come out to play.

She couldn't see him, so she assumed she was in a safe position. Inhaling, she prepared to yell for the other Avengers, her lips drawn into a thin line and her eyes steely.

"Cap! Stark!" She barked out, accidentally inhaling smoke.

She stifled her coughing, clenching her teeth and swallowing over and over again, refusing to let her eyes water. She needed to focus.

The smoke was coming thickly, billowing from shuttles and tanks as if they had been made to burn and contaminate the air. Natasha covered her mouth and nose, peering and trying to make her way through the field. The others had to be around here somewhere.

She had to find them before something went wrong... again.

"Stark? Clint?" She called again. "Steve?"

There was only the rustle of wind in the trees, but she could hear, faintly, the battle still going on. Where was Banner?

The ground shook beneath her, and she gasped, trying to keep her balance. Turning slowly, she looked to see that the Hulk was sniffing the air, green eyes searching the smoke that she was concealed in.

She ran as quietly as she could, baring her weapons at her sides and feeling the crunch of leaves against her boots.

The deafening roar behind her was enough of a hint to tell her that he had found her trail.

Leaping over logs and small puddles that would slow anyone else down, she found that she was heading towards a dead end with a very, very angry guy behind her. Impervious to bullets. Impervious to shocks. Impervious to gas.

She was practically powerless, and making him dance would only make him angrier. Something  _no one_ should endure.

As she came to the cliff that stretched who knew how far in both directions, she desperately climbed. Her uncovered hands protested, but she didn't have a choice- no one could outrun the hulk. Trick him, perhaps, but in speed... A mortal was no match.

She gasped for breath quietly, hearing the rumble of footsteps only becoming louder as she scaled the cliff. It was too steep. She was too tired. Natasha pushed on until she was sure that the Hulk would not see her.

Now, she had to think.

Something that would slow him down? Calm him...

What was it that Bruce was always listening to? It was similar to opera.

Huffing and straining her muscles, she burned through everything she knew about Banner. What calmed him?

Music? Talking?

She panted against the rock, she knew she had to get down soon else she may fall atop the "Other Guy".

She thought about it.

Perhaps she could entice him to come closer? To not attack her?

What was it that caught and held his attention?

A name... perhaps.

Taking a breath, she slowly lowered herself, feeling the anger wafting off of the hulk like waves in the ocean.

"Okay Natasha." She hummed to herself. "We have to try."

Lowering herself silently, she flipped her body so that she could look at the hulk. He was maybe ten or so feet down, and she realized with disappointment that she hadn't climbed nearly as high as she had thought. She would have to work on that.

Steeling herself, she prepared for what she hoped would not be her final words.

"Hey, big guy." She called. She stiffened as the Other Guy looked up to her, his attention caught.

"S-sun's gettin' real low." She breathed, trying to be assertive, yet calming. 

She flinched slightly as he growled at her, but made no move to attack.

Moving down, carefully, a few steps, she held his gaze. He stared, unblinking at her, as if he was confused.

An idea came to mind, and she slowly let one foot off of the cliff, as if to lower another step. She was barely three feet above him.

He growled at her again, and she contained a surprised sound.

"It's okay." She spoke quietly, letting the air still around here. "I don't have to hurt you... You don't have to hurt me..."

The hulk stared, only a rumble in his chest telling her that he may actually be listening.

She needed to get to his earpiece.

"Hey buddy." She coaxed, lowering down another foot. "Hey, it's okay."

She did the only thing she could think of that would soothe him.

Clearing her throat, she relaxed her muscles and hung off of the cliff, giving a soft hum before beginning.

"Tili, tili, bom... Close you're eyes now... Someone's walking outside, the houuuuse."

She lowered another unit, struggling to find a ledge for her foot to stay on. Her arms were getting sore.

"And knocks on the dooooor..."

She could see some light returning to his eyes, but he remained in a hostile position, fists clenched at his sides, mouth contorted in a snarl.

"Tili, tili, bom... The night-birds are chirping... He is in-side the houuuuse... To visit those who can't sleep..."

Her lungs burned from the smoke in the air, but she pushed on, feeling her foot land on soft grass and leaves as she finally reached the end of her descent.

"He waaalks... He is coming... closer."

She held out a hand, searching in the Hulk's eyes for  _something_ even a flash of the real Bruce Banner.

"Tili... tili bom..." Her throat ached, and so did every muscle in her body. She was amazed as the Hulk too, raised his hand to meet hers. "Can you hear him closing in? Lurking around the coornerr..."

She resisted the urge to cough, and lowered her hand so that the back was to the grass, and Hulk could see her palm.  "Staring right at you..."

"Tili tili b-om." Her throat caught, and Natasha fought to not ruin this calming moment for the Hulk. He needed to transition before she could tend to herself. This was a life or death situation.

His hand lowered into hers, only the first digit of one finger fitting gently into her palm. She breathed desperately through her nose, and moved her other hand to rest over his giant finger. "The silent ni-ght hides ev-verything."

She was choking on her words, she needed air.

"He-e sneaks up behind you... And he is going to get you..." She trailed, gulping air and staring into the Hulk, now looking more human by the second. She clenched her throat, inhaling and exhaling sharply. 

"H-he walks... He i-s comiiing..." She tried to clear her throat, she was desperate for air, but couldn't afford to take this calm from him. "... Closer."

He ripped his finger from her hands, flinched away and stumbling through the trees, growling and clutching at his head.

Natasha gasped for breath, coughs ripping from her chest, stealing her air away. She could see black spots dancing in front of her eyes, and she could feel the desperate shivers of her body begging for air. She fell to the ground, tears pricking at her eyes from the lack of life force.

She lay gasping like a fish out of water. There was too much smoke. So little air. She could hear someone above her, her eyes rolling madly as she tried to pinpoint the voice. Everything was blurring.

Natasha blacked out.

* * *

 

 "Stark, I have Natasha." Bruce called into his earpiece. "I don't know how, but I think she... Calmed the "Other Guy."

"What?" Tony asked, astonished.

"Now is not the time to ask. She's not responding to me, and she's lacking oxygen. There's a lot of smoke over here. We're at the bottom of a cliff right now. I think she may have been to preoccupied with me to respond to herself."

Bruce pinched his nose between his fingers, guilt sparking in his mind.

"We'll be over in a few moments with the ship. Is she injured in any other way?"

Stark's voice was pointed and authorized, as if he was her knight in shining armor. Bruce couldn't help but smile.

"Just scrapes and bruises." He replied, sitting beside her form and making sure that she was still breathing.

"Alright, if she wakes up, ask what she did to calm you down." 

 "Stark," Banner warned, frowning. "It's not  _if_ she wakes up, it's  _when_."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just hang tight until we get there."

With that, the line fell silent.

Bruce sat with the unconscious form as the smoke slowly cleared out, he was tired- and rightfully so, but he still felt as though he should stay wish her, to at least apologize.

The ship came overhead in a matter of minutes, landing in a spot around fifteen feet away and sending the trees around them shedding leaves.

Bruce sighed.

The panel door opened and a few soldiers jumped out alongside the medical team. They remained silent and stoic as they loaded Natasha onto a stretcher and took her into the ship. Bruce trailed behind with his head hanging low and his eyes downcast.

There weren't many- two nurses and three soldiers, all soldiers probably medically trained, but they didn't seem so hopeful at the sight of Natasha's condition.

"Is she going to be okay?" He asked, face grim. One nurse looked at him, and nodded, but no words were exchanged.

"Bruce." Tony was suddenly at his side. "We have to figure out how she calmed you. This is a huge breakthrough!"

The other seemed so delighted and relaxed, but Bruce only felt solemn.

"Yeah, but what if it doesn't work again?" He asked. "What happens if I manage to hurt- or worse; kill, her!"

Tony sighed and shook his head. "We can't think that way. This means that there is a way to calm you, and we have to focus on that. If it's too much of a danger for her, then we will call this project off."

Tony turned on his heel to go to the left, observing Natasha's vital signs.

"She seems alright to me, she'll probably just need to rest for awhile." He said, checking over the records.

Bruce ignored him.

* * *

Natasha awoke with a startled scream, jerked awake by someone, something. Doctors or nurses- whichever, whatever- rushed around her. Hands held her down as she thrashed and snarled in her Russian language. Her voice pitched back and forth, and she managed to successfully knock out three doctors before she felt something rushing through her.

Doubling over, she vomited. The saliva that dripped from her mouth was gray and tasted awful. Her throat protested against every scream and cuss, and burned in agony after she emptied her stomach.

A knob to her left was being twisted- a tranquilizer, no doubt, and she could feel a substance pushing, forcing it's way into her system. She ripped the drip from her arm.

She screamed her protests despite how raw and altered her voice was, and she coughed in between each pause.

Exhausting herself, not the best idea, but she hadn't reacted through logic like she had been taught to, she reacted through her instinct.

"Natasha, Natasha." The voice came through the, she now realized, glass room that she was in. She looked around, frantic, confused. Where was she? Was she back with the others? "Natasha, this is Tony. Tony Stark. You need to settle down or I will be forced to take you down myself."

She slumped against the bed, hacking up her lungs and clawing at her head. Memories, memories, memories.

"Good, well, good start." Tony's voice stated. "Natasha, I'm coming in. If you attack me I will knock you out. Understood?"

She waited a moment, staring blankly before nodding solemnly.

"Good."

A door zipped open, and Tony walked through wearing his usual black shirt and jeans, his mouth in a thin line.

"What do you remember?" He asked, eyeing the tube she had pulled out of her arm.

She opened her mouth, only a whisper of words coming out. "Hulk- tran-transforming."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you would like to write your answers?"

Natasha nodded, swallowing heavily and looking around. A note pad and pen were sitting beside her.

 _Water?_ She wrote.

"Ah, yes, you must be parched."

Natasha frowned, not at all wanting to deal with him. He left the room for a moment before returning with a small paper cup, cold water and three ice cubes inside.

She sipped carefully, then waited for Tony's questions.

"So... How did you get him to calm."

 _I confronted him carefully and calmly,_  she wrote with graceful strokes of the pen, _I didn't let him know I was afraid, and I..._

She hesitated, skipping a line.

_I sang him a common Russian lullaby._

Handing him the paper, she gazed at him, her face schooled into a neutral expression. Now both of his eyebrows were raised and he seemed to be giggling.

"Really now? All this time spent on him and all we had to do is sing a lullaby?"

She snatched the paper back, sipping her water and rolling an ice cube in her mouth, sucking.

 _I daresay it worked better than any of your_ stellar _inventions. As well as he never struck me, not even once_.

Tony tilted his head while reading, confused.

"That's... Interesting."

There was a knock at the door, and there stood the same guy they were talking about. Bashful and chagrined.

"Come on in, Banner. Natasha has seemed to make an interesting discovery."

At Tony's words she frowned, but glanced at Dr. Banner with a friendly expression before moving her hand in a  _go on_ manner.

Banner stepped in, sparing a smile to Natasha.

"Natasha," He started, but she held up a hand, shaking her head.

Put off, he fell silent and looked to Tony. "So, what did we find out?"

"Well, read what she wrote." Tony handed the paper to Bruce, grinning.

It took him a few seconds to read it, but when he finished, he frowned.

"So... she just... Sang the "Other Guy" a lullaby?" Bruce said, astounded. He looked back and forth from Natasha to Tony, and Natasha nodded.

"Sir, Pepper is trying to call you." JARVIS suddenly piped up.

"Got it JARVIS," Tony stated quietly, "well guys, I gotta run, so- Natasha, you can leave, I suppose, but you're supposed to rest."

With that, Tony left the room.

 "Nat..."

She shook her head, face firm. She gestured towards the notepad and Bruce- seemingly reluctant- gave it to her.

 _This is a good thing, allow it to happen. We can find a lot of new answers from this. We should try it again- this time without me passing out._ She handed the pad to him with a weak smile, looking down at her cup of water.

"Please, I don't want to hurt you." He frowned. "I really, really want you to look at me without fear- alongside the others. I can't- it's maddening to even think about their faces every time they see me after transitioning back to myself. They're... fearful."

Natasha shook her head, holding out her hand to take the notepad back.

_Doing this may only make me trust you more. It wont be fear if I know why and how to stop it. Again, we should try._

She handed it back, and they exchanged a stare.

Bruce sighed heavily.

"Okay, I'll do it."

 


End file.
